Timely detection of chemical compounds or analytes can help protect workers and members of the public from harm. For example, timely detection of a water spill on the floor of a grocery store can significantly reduce a risk of slip and fall lawsuits or at least help fairly quantify resulting damages by providing a record of how long the water was on the floor before a member of the public slipped and fell. In another example, timely detected degassing from explosives or detection of the explosives themselves can significantly reduce a risk to anyone in the vicinity.
Unfortunately, conventional analyte detection systems are often unable to cover a wide area at once and are unable to provide accurate spatial information about where the analyte is within a monitored area, which can cause further harm to the public or a worker by inadvertently herding them towards danger or wasting critical time while an expert physically manipulates or interprets the detection result to find or confirm the presence of the analyte and address the harmful condition caused by the presence of the analyte. Thus, there is a need for an improved methodology to provide a reliable and flexible analyte spatial detection system that can reduce risk of harm yet not unnecessarily impede typical operations.